The development is located along a major bus route and is within…
The development is located along a major bus route and is within a half-mile from the new Valley Metro Light Rail system.
MIKE SMALL PHOTOGRAPHY
To keep a piece of the project’s history, four of the existing…
To keep a piece of the project’s history, four of the existing buildings have been converted into community space and a museum rehabbed to its original 1940s condition.
MIKE SMALL PHOTOGRAPHY
Escobedo at Verde Vista has a family focus, with a mix of larger…
Escobedo at Verde Vista has a family focus, with a mix of larger unit sizes, tot lots, and before- and after-school programs. The development team also collaborated with Hope Village to provide housing to low-income families who are adopting children out of the Arizona foster care system.
MIKE SMALL PHOTOGRAPHY
Phase I of Escobedo at Verde Vista in Mesa, Ariz., brings new li…
Phase I of Escobedo at Verde Vista in Mesa, Ariz., brings new life to this public housing project that was vacated in 2007 and 2008 due to its dilapidated state. It provides 70 units of affordable housing, with 28 units for families with special needs, as well as new headquarters for Save the Family Foundation, a nonprofit that has been serving homeless families for more than 25 years.
Gorman & Co. has transformed a boarded-up public housing project in Mesa, Ariz., into a diverse community. The site housed African-American pilots during World War II in segregated barracks and then was converted into segregated public housing for African-American and Hispanic households. The Escobedo project was finally integrated in the 1960s but was vacated in 2007 and 2008 due to its dilapidated state.
Gorman teamed with Save the Family Foundation of Arizona, which serves homeÂless families, and West Mesa CDC to revive the site. The first phase of Escobedo at Verde Vista, completed in November, provides 70 units of housing for low-Âincome families, seniors, and those with special needs. It also includes a 15,000-square-foot headquarters for Save the Family.
What’s now on the site is a stark contrast to its origins. “It’s one of the most diverse developments,” says Brian Swanton, Gorman’s Arizona market president. “And they live together in such harmony.”
The $17 million development was financed with low-income housing tax credit equity from JPMorgan Chase, syndicated through Boston Capital, and permanent and construction loans from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The second phase is expected to break ground in July.
Christine Serlin is an editor for Affordable Housing Finance, Multifamily Executive, and Builder. She has covered the affordable housing industry since 2001. Before that, she worked at several daily newspapers, including the Contra Costa Times and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Connect with Christine at cserlin@zondahome.com
or follow her on Twitter @ChristineSerlin.
